This is both my personal learning project and my contribution in the struggle to confront the ongoing Republican/ libertarian assault on rational science and constructive learning, as manifested in their malicious strategic Attacks on Science ~ A collection of articles, scientific resources, plus my own essays and indepth critique of various presentations from unidirectional-skeptics ~ Hopefully a resource for the busy, yet discerning, student who's concerned about the health of our Earth

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Tell the Electors: Vote Your Conscience - Daniel Brezenoff

Electoral College Petition - The Electors of the Electoral College vote for the President on December 19, 2016. They have a Constitutional duty to protect the United States and the Constitution from danger.

The Electoral College petition is the largest petition in Change.org history. More than 4.7 million people have signed on to ask the Electors to vote their conscience, and vote against Donald Trump.

We, a bipartisan coalition of Americans including Electors, scholars, officials, and concerned citizens write to you in the spirit of fellowship, out of our sense of patriotism, and with great urgency.4

There are times in the life of a nation when extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures. Now is a such time, and your courage and leadership are required.29

Never in our Republic’s history has there been a President-apparent comparable to Donald Trump. His inauguration would present a grave and continual threat to the Constitution, to domestic tranquility, and to international stability:17

•He has threatened the freedom of speech by condoning violence at public events, and suggesting criminal penalties and even revocation of citizenship to punish political expression;

•He has threatened the freedom of press by vowing to revoke First Amendment protections for journalists;

•He has threatened the freedom of religion by proposing to bar entry to the country and force the registration of members of certain faiths;

•He has entangled himself with foreign interests through his personal business dealings, and refused to provide records of his taxes, which could allay suspicions;

•He has indicated a willingness to condone torture, in contravention of the Constitution and our international treaties, which carry the force of law;

•He is uncomfortably close to the regime of Russia, which has interfered in the election;

•He has shown reckless disregard for diplomacy, communicating impulsively, in public forums, regarding matters of national security, and allowing personal emotions to interfere with reasoned judgment, calling into question his fitness as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the nuclear capabilities of the United States;

•He has, unlike every previous Commander-in-Chief, never served in any public position, whether elected or appointed, civilian or military, thereby bringing no experience or proven judgment on behalf of The People, or evidence of a character suited to high office.

For these reasons, his assumption of office endangers the Constitution, the freedoms it protects, and the continued prosperity and welfare of the United States.

You, Electors, possess the power to prevent this outcome. You are not bound to cast your vote for the candidate of your party – and, as he won neither a majority nor even a plurality of the popular vote, there can be no question of undermining the will of The People.

The Constitution empowers Electors to exercise judgment and choice.

If your role were only ceremonial, our Founders would not have required the states to elect you, or that you cast ballots by your own hand. State laws notwithstanding, you are free to vote your conscience.You have a mandate, like all officials, to protect and defend the Constitution.14 And you have the right and responsibility to investigate those who stand for this office, and to deliberate before casting your vote.

We place country before party in imploring you, our fellow Americans, to investigate and deliberate. We stand with you as you exercise your conscience and give profound consideration to the consequences of your vote. We affirm your right and your duty to do so free from intimidation, and urge you to cast your ballot for a person with the temperament, integrity and commitment to Constitutional principles necessary in a President.

In doing so, know that you enjoy the support of millions of Americans.

Thank you for your service to our country.

This letter was funded by Daniel Brezenoff, a social worker and grassroots Democratic activist

Titles and institutional affiliations for individuals signing this letter are provided for identification purposes only. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and signatories, and do not represent the views of any organization named, or any other with which the author or signatories are affiliated.

_______________________________________________

Signed,

Daniel Brezenoff3Author, Democracy and Progress

Bret ChiafaloWashington State Elector

Michael BacaColorado Elector

Beth Caldwell

Washington State Elector

Former Attorney, Office for Civil Rights, US Department of Education, Co-Founder, Metastatic Exchange to Unleash Power

Leora Auslander, Ph.D.

Professor of Modern European Social History and

Arthur and Joann Rasmussen Professor of Western Civilization

College and the Department of History, The University of Chicago

Sahar F. Aziz, M.A., J.D.Professor of Law, Texas A&M University School of Law

Former Senior Policy Advisor, Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Sotirios A. Barber, Ph.DProfessor of Political Science, University of Notre Dame

Deborah Barnbaum, Ph.DProfessor and Chair of Philosophy, Kent State University

Khaled A. Beydoun, M.A., J.D.Associate Professor of Law, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law Affiliated Faculty, Islamophobia Research & Documentation Project Center on Race & Gender, University of California, Berkeley

On Monday, December 19, America has one last chance to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president — or so the most hopeful Trump opponents claim. Technically, they’re right. The Founding Fathers adopted the Electoral College to ensure that the presidency would not go to an unqualified candidate who won over the masses with his “talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity,” as Alexander Hamilton put it.

Many say the election of a reality-TV star with extensive foreign ties is exactly the kind of scenario the Electoral College was created for — especially because Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than 2.8 million votes.

But the political reality is that Trump will be sworn in on January 20. If he fails to receive the 270 majority required to secure the presidency, the election will be decided by the House of Representatives, where Republicans have a solid majority.

Even if “faithless electors” give another candidate more than 270 votes, an obscure rule will allow Congress to challenge the outcome of the Electoral College vote. Republicans in Congress may have reservations about Trump, but they’re not about to humiliate their party, risk their chance to implement a conservative agenda, and potentially plunge the country into chaos by overturning the election results. …

On Dec. 19, a group of citizens totaling 0.00017 percent of the American population will officially choose the next president of the United States. If the 538 members of the Electoral College are faithful to tradition, they will elect Donald Trump. If they are faithful to the framers of the Constitution, they will not.

Tradition says that pledged electors vote en masse for the presidential candidate who wins a plurality of votes in their state. By that logic, Trump, who won the toss-up states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania by 1 percent to secure an Electoral College majority, will be our president.

It does not matter that Hillary Clinton defeated Donald Trump nationwide by 2.7 million votes, or 2 percent, a wider margin than roughly half a dozen elected presidents. It does not matter that Trump received a minority of ballots cast – 46 percent – and just one in four American citizens voted in his favor. It does not matter that he would be the first person to assume the office of president without any public service experience. All that matters, according to tradition, is that electors are automatically delivered to the winner of their state.

Our Founding Fathers did not agree with this tradition.

Reviewing the recorded statements of the framers of the Constitution, two factors emerge as central in the selection of president: majority rule and fitness for office. …

4 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Dear Electors,

The Electoral College is to protect the State’s Rights and the Individual Rights represented by the state. To protect the Democratic-Republic that Alexander Hamilton defended so long ago is to cast your vote per your State’s Individual Voters. The Electoral College is to protect the citizens of United States from the “Tyranny of Majority” also known as “National Popular Votes”. The “National Popular Votes” can easily be interfered by foreign powers as Alexander Hamilton stated in his argument for a “Electoral College”. The Electoral College represents everyone individual rights through their state representatives. To prevent one state’s population having “Tyranny” over another state’s population.

Therefore, to protect everyone’s rights, you must cast your vote per your state’s population mandate.

Refusing to grant Donald Trump’s right to represent the United States’ voters is a “Tyranny” decision and a fascists statement.

Reminder of Clinton’s Global Actions:

Clinton refused to label the 1994 mass killings in Rwanda as a genocide. Clinton supported the genocide of the Tutsi.

Clinton encouraged her husband Bill and his secretary of state Madeleine Albright to attack Serbian forces in 1993. Clinton supported the Serbian genocide.

Clinton has threatened the freedom of speech by suggesting criminal penalties;

Clinton has threatened the freedom of press by vowing to revoke First Amendment protections for journalists;

Clinton has threatened the freedom of religion by proposing to bar entry to the country and force the registration of members of certain faiths;

Clinton has entangled herself with foreign interests through the Clinton Foundation; Clinton accepted money from foreign powers. Clinton auctioned off U.S. influence to foreign interests.

Clinton has indicated a willingness to assassinate United Nation Leaders; Clinton claimed to assassinated Muammar Gaddafi.

Clinton has supported and attempted to assassinate President Bashar Assad of Syria and President Vladimir Putin of Russia.

Clinton fully supported the coup in Honduras and Haiti.

Clinton support President Barack Obama’s interference into British Elections and Israeli Elections;

Anonymous, We have had the most dirty tricks and lie infested presidential campaign in history.

This wasn't about making Clinton President, this was about stopping a pathological liar, self-obsessed,, thoughtless, greedy government hater as the President of our Government. The insanity is amazing. We have elected a Russian Obligate, who hates our government, is up to his neck in questionable business entanglements and supposedly rational people are okay with that. Crazy. Absolutely crazy.

Your Clinton bashing list above list sounds like a lot of bent bullshit too, - if you are so concerned about that list, why aren't you concerned about all the truly insane things Trump keeps tweeting out???????

Mind you I haven't liked Clinton since she made a mess of Clinton health plan a couple decades ago, the same qualities made her a failure then, made her a loser this time. But she'd have at least made a real President, rather than a tool of the super rich, to take over our government and cripple it - read their intentions, I am not exaggerating. Our next election will be an interesting frightening thing to watch indeed.

Also thinking over that twisted kangaroo court list of charges re. Clinton - Trump is bringing back many of the egomaniacal greed-blinded neoconservative morons who brought us the War In Iraq, which was very profitable for them, but screwed the pooch for everyone and everything else.

A bit of supporting evidence.And do these self interest fools are totally in charge with no Check'n Balances - terrifying thought.

WEDNESDAY, NOV 4, 2015 03:42 PM MSTThe media’s insane new Iraq War lie: Why is it so hard to say that Bush and Cheney were the architects of disasterThe press is letting necons off the hook by characterizing a lone Iraqi dissident as "architect" of the US invasionBEN NORTONhttp://www.salon.com/2015/11/04/the_medias_insane_new_iraq_war_lie_why_is_it_so_hard_to_say_that_bush_and_cheney_were_the_architects_of_disaster/www.salon.com/2015/11/04/the_medias_insane_new_iraq_war_lie_why_is_it_so_hard_to_say_that_bush_and_cheney_were_the_architects_of_disaster/___________________________________________________________________Lie by Lie: A Timeline of How We Got Into IraqMushroom clouds, duct tape, Judy Miller, Curveball. Recalling how Americans were sold a bogus case for invasion.

RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

11/29/2016 I started this blog to debate climate science contrarians, I've done my part, they, the intellectual cowards for their part have run off and hide within their hermetically sealed echo chambers, safe to continue broadcasting more stupidity mixed with anger and hostility rather than constructive learning.

Now this horrendous election. Its changed everything and this blog, not sure where it's going, eventually I need to start another one, one less intent on futility reaching out for what ain't there and more focused on presenting a different perspective for its own sake, and to hell with the rest of it, it's too heart breaking.

I see Dec 19th as a key date. If there isn't serious focused engagement of the public in numbers that surprise everyone, well the oligarch will have their way with us.

Americans need to let Trump know from the gitgo, we do not approve of his con job and he better not get too crazy because he's earned zero good faith or honeymoon considerations. We shall see.

{edited 12/11/2014}

I know there are too many typos, what can I say, eyes aren't what they were, I get rushed, and always did have a thing with transposing…{well, I also hated high school "english" classes... bad call that one.}. Doing the best I can with what I got. Embarrassing though it is, it's better than doing nothing. Besides, it's the issues and reasoning that we should be worrying about.

Though I'm in my own little world here, I'm also constantly learning and evolving and do get occasional feedback and when I reread stuff and find errors or omissions or garbage, I fix it. If it's major I'll acknowledge it with an 'edited' note, minor stuff I don't bother.

~ ~ ~

I hardly keep track of Anthony's latest antics (besides, with Sou on the job why bother - can't beat her insights). It's just me over here and I have more important things to do with my precious hours - still now that Anthony's luster has been wearing thin he's put his energy into discovering and honing new fresh faces to carry on the public show of the Republican/Libertarian strategic attack on science.

He seems to have transitioned into a ring-leader, perhaps mentor/coach would be better, producer? At least that's how Mr. Steele and his antics of the past year has gotten me to think about it. So in that regard this blog remains about WUWT's brand of thinking and logic and my struggle to understand the anatomy of the fraud they've perpetrated against mankind. {December 2014}

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ok, now some recommended websites:

This blog was started in April 2013 and is written by an actual scientist so it has a refreshingly serious objective air to it, plus he does a good clear job of explaining complex issues.

Tamino, an acknowledged statistical/mathematical expert of the highest order, at Open Mind also does an excellent job of holding Anthony’s feet to the fire with clearly explained facts and math. Check it out:http://tamino.wordpress.com~ ~ ~

And of course, there is the excellent, most up to date internet depository of climate studies and information for the non-expert public.

Then there's RealClimate.org the scientist's commentary site. Run by working climate scientists intended to help the interested public and journalists sort through the complexities of the climatology. They provide "quick response to developing stories and provide the context" that is too often missing from public media's depiction. {But, you better be serious and have some real science education/understanding under your belt if you want to keep up.}

I remember back in da day, good websites/blogs were few and far between. But over the past years that's been changing to the point that it's impossible to keep up with them all. Here's an incomplete, and long overdue addition to my above list: